Pokemon: Solar Shadow
by CrimsonDragon206
Summary: A Fate Solar Shadow and Pokemon fanfiction. The McCraken twins have been abandoned by their father, and with their mother gone, they're now in the care of their godparents. They've been going to Pokemon School in Alola for the past few years, and they're just getting ready to really start their adventure. (I don't know. I'm not great with summaries.)
1. Chapter 1

**This idea was born from a simple question I asked in a Something Witty stream, but my mind has been racing ever since. I asked what Izzy and Carrie thought the twins would pick as their starter Pokemon. I don't own Pokemon and don't know the people who play the Solar Shadow game personally. Just a fan of both who likes to write.**

**Important note: There's going to be a mix of Solar Shadow characters, Pokemon game/anime characters, and a few of my own creations. If you're not familiar with any of the characters featured here, google them with Nat19 or Pokemon along with it, and if nothing shows up, it's probably a creation of mine.**

**Also, quick side note: As of right now in our story, the twins are 16.**

* * *

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

Isla McCraken groaned as her alarm went off on her nightstand. She reached over half-heartedly, only to push it off the nightstand and onto the floor, unplugging it and silencing the stupid thing. Isla stayed in bed for another few minutes, before enacting the greatest act of willpower ever: Actually getting out of bed in the morning.

After taking a couple minutes to get dressed, Isla dragged herself out of her room. She walked to the kitchen, stopping for a minute in the living room to pet Gae-El's Dusk Form Lycanroc, who was lying down on the floor on the spot where the sun shone through the windows, and to say a quick, "Good morning," to Gae-El himself, who was sitting in the recliner, reading a paper and had his Alolan Vulpix napping in his lap. She also took a moment to pet Stonewalker's Decidueye, who was roosting on a small stand near the window.

As she finally made her way into the kitchen, Isla noticed that Ian was already up, eating a bowl of cereal and paging through a book. She just rolled her eyes and said, "Morning, nerd."

"Hey bitch," Ian said, not looking up from his book as he talked.

Isla began to make herself some breakfast, saying, "Ugh, this week has been dragging so much. Just gotta get through today, then we got the weekend. There's no way school can end soon enough today."

That got Ian to look up and reply, "Isla… do you remember what today is?"

"Friday?"

"It's the first day of the second semester."

"Yippie," Isla replied sarcastically, pouring herself a glass of orange juice and sitting down across from Ian at the dining room table.

Ian just sighed and he pinched the bridge of his nose, causing her to raise an eyebrow at him. "Does the word 'starter,' ring a bell?"

Ian could almost see the gears turning in Isla's still half-asleep mind, until she shot up, like someone had just injected her with caffeine. "That's right, we're FINALLY getting our starters today!" she shouted in excitement.

"Ya got there, good job," Ian commented dryly, only to get a dirty look from his sister.

"Shut up!" she shot back at him, quickly inhaling her breakfast as she began to grab her bag and make sure she had everything she would need today.

"You know we still got plenty of time, right?"

"I don't wanna wait!" Isla shouted back.

"Isla, calm down please," they heard Gae-El say from the living room.

"Sorry," she called back, flipping her brother the bird as he stuck his tongue out at her and pulled down his eyelid.

"It's alright," Gae-El said, more than used to this at this point. He'd known them all their lives, and had lived with them for the last 6 after all. Didn't mean he wanted to hear them shouting at each other all the time though.

Sitting back down at the table, knowing that they did have quite a bit of time left, Isla looked into the kitchen and then back into the living room. "Hey, where's Stonewalker?" she asked her brother.

"Said she had some errands to run this morning. She probably won't be back before we've left," he replied, going back to his book. And now that Isla got a better look at it, it seemed to be a reference book about Pokemon most commonly given to new trainers as starters, so it had Pokemon like Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Cyndaquil, etc and how to care for each of them. Figures he would even be studying for something like this.

"Without Decidueye?"

Ian just shrugged and said, "Said it wasn't anything major, just some things that needed doing." Isla just shrugged and propped herself up with her hand and was tapping it vigorously with the other. Now that she knew how important the day was, or was reminded rather, she needed school to start as soon as possible.

It wasn't much longer until it was time for the twins to seriously start moving. Ian rinsed his dishes in the sink and shoved his Starter Handbook in his bag and slinging it over his shoulder before meeting Isla at the doorway, who was waiting rather impatiently by tapping her foot on the floor at the rate of gunfire. The two looked back towards the living room and shouted to Lycanroc and Decidueye, "C'mon guys, we gotta go!" The two Pokemon made their way into the kitchen, until Ian said, "Wait, do we need them to come along? After all, we're getting our starters today." This caused Lycanroc to stop in its tracks and tilt its head to the side in confusion, while Decidueye landed and folded its wings, waiting for them to decide what they wanted them to do.

The twins had been attending Pokemon School for the past three years, this year being their fourth and last year. It was apart of an agreement they made with Gae-El and Stonewalker to be allowed to not only take the Island Challenges in Alola, but also be allowed to explore other regions to find their missing dad. That said, there were things they needed Pokemon partners for and proper starters had been unavailable until now, so Gae-El and Stonewalker had been lending them their Pokemon for the time being. Both Ian and Isla had also tried to catch wild Pokemon, but that was easier said than done. They had both been complaining about not having partners since all the Alolan Starters had been taken before they got the chance, and the Professor hadn't been able to find more. It got to a point where Professor Kukui had to begin asking his colleagues to send some starters his way, but they had run into a similar problem. Finding pokemon considered to be starters were quite rare after all, so it was understandable. So now that their starter Pokemon had arrived, from two different regions no less, would they really need to bring them along anymore?

"You might as well bring them along one last time. I'm sure they'll want to check out the two new additions to the family," Gae-El said, entering the kitchen with Vulpix in his arms.

The twins looked back over at their guardians' Pokemon, as they smirked and motioned for them to come along as they walked out the door. Lycanroc and Decidueye continued following, going along with the routine that had become familiar to them for the past four years. The two matched the twins' stride, Lycanroc walking next to Ian and Decidueye flying slowly next to Isla. Ian and Isla both waved back to Gae-El, who waved to them from the door before closing it behind him.

* * *

The twins walked into town with the Pokemon in tow, admiring the view of Melemele Island's beautiful beaches in the morning light. Following the beaches was the fastest route from the twins' home to the Pokemon School, so it was a common sight for them, besides the rare occasions they had bad weather.

It wasn't until the Pokemon School was in sight that they met one of their classmates, as the twins had walked mostly in silence besides greeting people they knew in town. It was Lana, a short girl with blue hair who wore a white sleeveless shirt, blue pants, and sandals. Her school bag was slung over her shoulder as well. Her partner Pokemon, a Popplio, rode on her head, looking as cheerful as ever. She was a lucky one, having not only found a starter Pokemon in the wild, but also befriending it and making it her partner, making the twins slightly jealous, but they had tried not to show it. "Morning Lana," Ian greeted her.

"Alola Lana," Isla also said.

"Morning guys. Today's the day, right?" Lana asked them, scratching Lycanroc behind the ears. Popplio greeted the twins its own way, letting out a "Pop, pop!" and leaping onto Ian's shoulders. It booped him with its nose before leaping over to Isla and doing the same, both the twins patting it affectionately. It leaped back over to Lana as the twins nodded in response to her question from earlier.

"Yep," Ian said, before jabbing a thumb at Isla and mock whispering, making sure Isla could actually hear, "I'm glad that you remembered it, because she certainly didn't."

"Shut up! I was sleepy!" Isla shouted at him, while Lana just laughed at the twins' usual antics. She also noticed that Kiawe, a boy the same age as the twins, was flying in on Charizard from Akala Island, so she waved to him as he flew by, making the twins look up as well and wave to their classmate. The black and red haired boy waved down at them when he noticed as he flew over the Pokemon School, circled once, and then landed in the schoolyard.

It wasn't long until the twins and Lana also walked into school, and they were greeted by the sight of other students and Pokemon in the yard. It was easy to tell who had a Pokemon and who didn't. Those who did had their Pokemon by their side, while those who didn't were trying not to look jealous. However, there weren't many still in the yard, since classes would be starting soon. It was mainly people wrapping up battles and spectators for those battles.

Unfortunately, our small party didn't have time to watch any of them, since they needed to get to the top of the building before the bell. They were taught by Professor Kukui himself, and while he was considered to be the most fun teacher, his classroom could only be reached by walking up a few flights of stairs in the early morning, which was never fun. Decidueye, though, just flew up and landed on the railing of their classroom, looking down at the twins a bit smugly, which neither of the twins could see, but they both knew he was. "Lucky," Isla grumbled, as the twins and Lana walked inside and began to ascend, Lycanroc walking behind them three of them on the narrow stairway.

As the party finally made it to the classroom, they found that most of their classmates were already present. They had seen Kiawe land earlier, so he was obviously present with his partner, Turtonator, but Mallow was also present and her partner Pokemon, a Bounsweet, who sat on the green haired girl's desk, was also present. The only other person there was Lillie, who didn't have a partner Pokemon of her own, since she was scared to even touch the things, but loved to study them. It was an odd situation for sure, but Lillie assured everyone that it wasn't something to worry about and that she was working on overcoming her fear.

However, even with the addition of the twins and Lana, there were two seats that were left open. One belonged to Sophocles, who was rarely ever late to class and hadn't ever missed a single class, so it was strange to be sure. The other was less strange, since it belonged to Lillie's brother, Gladion, who made a habit of showing up when he felt like it. His grades should have been abysmal, but Kukui, being the nice guy he was, let Gladion do make up work. Somehow, it let the boy stay afloat, much to the displeasure of his classmates.

The five classmates traded greetings as the Pokemon gathered and socialized as they normally did, by continuously calling out each of their names. It wasn't long until they heard the school bell ring and the students all took their seats, with both of the twins shifting in their seats as the Professor walked in. "Alola class. Unfortunately, Sophocles is sick today and will not be joining us and I see that Gladion won't be here either. With that out of the way, we're gonna jump right into our lesson today about-"

"YOU GIVE US OUR POKEMON NOW!" Isla shouted, slamming her hands down on the table and making everyone else in the room, besides Ian, jump.

"Well, Isla, I was going to wait until the end of class, so you and your brother could take your Pokemon out in the yard and get to know them," Kukui responded carefully, trying not to enrage her further.

"With all due respect, we've been waiting ACTUAL years for our own Pokemon. We're not waiting another few hours," Ian said, standing up with his sister.

Kukui began laughing, before replying, "Yeah, I figured as much. I knew I wouldn't get far. I didn't actually plan a lesson for today so that we could spend helping you two learn about your new partners." He pulled out two Pokeballs from his lab coat pocket and popped them open onto the ground as the twins immediately walked up to the front of the class to meet the new Pokemon. Lycanroc and Decidueye flanked the twins, eyeing the newcomers curiously.

One of the two starter Pokemon was a small bipedal orange lizard with a small flame burning on the end of its tail. This one, both of the twins knew, was Charmander, the fire starter from Kanto. It looked around the room curiously with a smile on its face and a look of wonder in its eye at this whole knew place. The other, which only Ian knew, was a small blue creatures down on all fours, with a dorsal fin on top of its head and orange cheeks. Isla didn't know it because when she was looking into starter Pokemon, she had only been interested in the fire types, but Ian had looked into all of them in preparation, so he knew that this was Mudkip. Said Pokemon walked up to Lycanroc curiously, tilting its head and letting out a little "Mudkip!" in greeting.

"Lycan," Lycanroc replied, sniffing the amphibian Pokemon curiously as Mudkip just had an innocent smile on its face.

"Alright, now pick carefully you two. After all, it's going to be your first real partner as trainers, so consider-" Kukui was cut off for the second time today.

Isla immediately scooped up Charmander and held him aloft and said, "This one. I pick this one." She grinned as Charmander held out his arms towards her, so he gave him a hug. She also slightly adjusted the position of his tail to keep the flame away from her, but continued to hug him nonetheless.

"That means it's you and me little buddy," Ian said with a smile, holding out his arms to Mudkip, who trotted over to him before leaping into his arms.

"Well, that's that I guess. Let's head out into the yard and see what these two can do, shall we?" Kukui suggested, and the class collectively gave a nod. The twins carried their new starters out, only putting them down when they finally reached the middle of the yard. While the twins were aware that all eyes were on them, they weren't aware of one particular set of eyes that watched the twins and their partners from the forest on one side of the school.

"Alright Charmander, attack," Isla commanded, since she unsure of what her new Pokemon knew. Charmander smirked and opened its mouth and fired a small fireball from its mouth, which detonated as it hit the ground, leaving a small crater.

"That was Ember! And it looked pretty powerful considering he's still young," the Professor commented and Isla grinned at the sound of that.

"You're up Mudkip. Show me what you got!" Ian said with a smile, and the small amphibian let out a stream of bubbles, which impacted the wall of the school, leaving some actual noticeable dents. "That was Bubblebeam!" Ian said, recognizing the move with a grin.

However, before anyone could comment or the twins could continue, they all heard a piercing cry come from the woods.

"Koko!"

Everyone in the yard froze at the cry, but the twins were the only ones who were familiar with this cry. A creature suddenly appeared in front of the twins and their starter Pokemon with its great speed, one the twins had both only seen once before, and the rest had only ever read about. It was Tapu Koko, the legendary island guardian of Melemele Island. The twins hadn't seen this Pokemon in years, but the memories began rushing back to them.

* * *

_The 10 year-old twins were in the woods without any form of supervision. It had only been a couple days since their dad had disappeared without a trace, leaving them in the care of Gae-El and Stonewalker. Those two were trying to find any lead on Quantavious and had trusted the twins to stay at home like they had been told. However, Isla decided that she wanted to go exploring. She'd been upset ever since her dad went missing, so she just wanted to do something else than sit inside for a change. Ian had gone after her, if only to try and convince her to come back to the house. "Isla, c'mon, we gotta go back. Gae-El and Stonewalker told us to stay inside!" Ian complained._

"_No, I don't wanna stay inside! We've done that for the past four days and I'm sick of it!" she shouted back at him, as she continued to push her way through the forest, no clear destination in mind. She just wanted to do something, anything to get her out of this mood. The answer came in the form of a small orange bear Pokemon who noticed them at the same time they noticed it. "Teddi?" the small Teddiursa said curiously._

_Isla grinned and began to run towards it, which spooked the Pokemon as it began to run from the female twin, as her counterpart continued to chase after her. "Isla, that's not a good idea!" Ian shouted._

"_Shut up nerd!" Isla shouted, before the redheaded twins froze in their tracks as they heard a growl from the brush as Teddiursa disappeared into it. Suddenly, a large brown bear Pokemon rose up from the bushes with a mighty roar. Ursaring roared at the threat to its young, as it swung a large paw at Isla who fell backwards while trying to run from it. She just barely dodged the strike, and Ian suddenly grabbed her arm and dragged her to avoid a strike from another Ursaring, who seemed to be the other parent of the Teddiursa. _

_The two towering Pokemon approached the twins, as Isla got to her feet and they got ready to run for their lives, when two bolts of electricity suddenly shot down from above the twins, striking the two Ursaring and sending them backwards. The two Pokemon struggled back to their feet, ready to take on whatever decided to challenge them, until their eyes widened in shock and backed off as Tapu Koko descended from the sky in front of the two kids._

_As the Ursaring disappeared deeper into the woods, Tapu Koko turned around to regard the twins, as the two kids silently stared at the legendary Pokemon in awe. With an ear piercing, "Koko!" it disappeared by flickering away with its incredible speed._

_After that, the twins had gone back home, after swearing to tell no one about this. They didn't want anyone to know they almost died because they didn't listen to their guardians, but also because they were positive people would call them crazy after they claimed to have seen the legendary island guardian._

* * *

As the twins finally came back to reality, they saw that a flicker of electricity jumped across Tapu Koko's body as it stared down the twins and their Pokemon. It was clear that the island guardian was looking for a fight, and it was intending to fight them. The twins were unsure if they could do it with their new partners, even though Charmander and Mudkip looked ready to battle. However, when Lycanroc and Decidueye moved up to support the two younger Pokemon, they suddenly felt a lot more confident. "Alright, Decidueye, use Spirit Shackle!" Isla called, as Decidueye plucked a feather tipped arrow from its wing and fired it from a bow at the legendary Pokemon, but it missed as the Pokemon flickered away, appearing with a glowing multicolored aura around it. The island guardian used its Dazzling Gleam attack on Decidueye, slamming into the owl-like Pokemon and sending it backwards.

"Lycanroc, Accelerock!" Ian called as Dazzling Gleam faded. Lycanroc's body glowed, and suddenly it fired forward with its own move enhanced speed. It slammed into Tapu Koko, and while it recoiled back, it was far less than the twins would have liked.

"Charmander use Ember!" Isla called, trying to use the small window of opportunity Lycanroc had made for them. The small fire lizard gave its all by firing a small fireball right into Tapu Koko's face, but it barely flinched from the impact. Tapu Koko swung its left wing, striking Lycanroc and sending it flying away from the guardian. "Decidueye, Razor Leaf!" Isla commanded, as the owl-like Pokemon had snuck behind the island guardian while it had been blinded by the Ember's smoke.

"Mudkip, you use Bubblebeam!" Ian also called, as the stream of bubbles and the razor sharp leaves fired from Decidueye's wings as it gave them a mighty beat. Tapu Koko disappeared with a flicker, before appearing high above them all. A yellow dome suddenly appeared around the twins and their Pokemon.

"That's Tapu Koko's ability, Electric Terrain! It powers up electric type moves!" Kukui shouted to the twins, as they both paled at what that could mean. Tapu Koko gave out a cry before using Discharge. The electricity fired off wildly from the island guardian, striking all of the Pokemon currently in battle with the legendary Pokemon.

It floated down as the twins looked worriedly at where their partners had been, since they were all obscured by smoke from the attack. However, as it cleared, they saw they all, even their new starters, were struggling to their feet. They were all determined to not give up against this legendary Pokemon, even though they were all banged up. Tapu Koko seemed to take a moment to regard each and every one of them, before making a judgement.

Before the twins could make a command, or even tell their Pokemon to back down, Tapu Koko let out one more, "Koko!" before disappearing for the last time. It didn't reappear again, but the twins both felt something pressed into their hands. They both looked down and found matching sparkling stones in their hands, which they could only stare at in awe.

The bystanders came running, and only Kukui and Kiawe recognized the stones in the twins' hands. "Okay, how about we get those four patched up," Kukui said, pressing the Pokeballs of their respective starter Pokemon into their free hands to they could return them. "And then, we can talk about what _those _mean. Especially coming from Tapu Koko of all things," he finished, as the twins glanced back at the stones before rushing over to their Pokemon.

* * *

**Alright, that does it for the first chapter of Pokemon Solar Shadow! This was an idea that I've had in the works ever since the A Hat in Time Something Witty stream. It feels amazing to finally get this all written out and uploaded. Feel free to leave any suggestions you may have to improve this.**

**Constructive criticism is welcome!**

**Don't be an asshole.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So... this got some pretty good reception, both on Twitter and here on . And I'm surprised how positive it's all been. I consider myself to be a so-so writer who puts out what he thinks is his best. It's genuinely nice to see other people like this and MHA/Soup Can. Just motivates me to keep writing and write better.**

**This is an update after the Crash Bandicoot Racing stream, where I got some really nice words from Carrie and Izzy, and even Buddy said he liked it in chat. My heart genuinely felt like it was gonna explode with all the nice things they said. So I'd like to say a big thank you to those guys, and everyone else reading this!**

* * *

"So I assume you both know about the Island Challenge?" Kukui asked as the twins finished applying the potions and other medical supplies to their Pokemon to patch them up after the battle. The class was still outside, and the twins' Pokemon sat next to them, looking far better after having received medical treatment.

"Yeah, it's all the trials that you can do in Alola to get Z-Crystals so you can use Z-Moves," Isla said. It was one of the few topics she had taken the time to study, simply because the Z-Moves she'd seen Gae-El and Stonewalker use had been awesome. There was no way she was gonna pass something like that up.

"The Island Challenge consist of trials and grand trials, which aren't all just battles. It could be something like finding a certain item or it could be a test of knowledge or other skills. But you can only take the challenge if you receive a Z-Ring from the Island Kahuna or get one some other way," Ian added.

"Both of you are correct, but do either of you know what the Z-Rings are made from?" Kukui asked with a smirk, waiting for the twins to catch on. There was a moment of silence, until the twins perked up and looked at the stones they had been given by the Tapu Koko. "Bingo!" Kukui congratulated them.

"Does this mean we can take the Island Challenge?" Ian asked his teacher. Both of the twins grinned at the idea of taking the Island Challenge early, if only by half a year. The agreement with their godparents said they couldn't ask the Kahuna about getting a Z-Ring and taking the challenge before they graduated. The agreement didn't say anything about getting one from a legendary Pokemon.

"Well, we still need to talk to a Kahuna about refining those into actual Z-Rings and I think we'll still need to talk to your guardians," Kukui said apologetically, watching as they deflated ever so slightly. However, they held onto hope that they would change their minds after they told them all this. "However, we've still got a couple of hours left of class, so why don't we see what else Charmander and Mudkip can do? After that, we'll go back to class and refresh ourselves on the Island Challenge to make sure you two are up to speed on everything we know."

The twins both looked interested, and Lana stepped forward with her Popplio, who was clinging to the top of her head. "Hey Ian, wanna have a race?" she asked him with a smile before nodding over to the small moat that ran alongside part of the wall that surrounded the school.

Popplio leaped off and made its way over to Mudkip and let out a "Pop, pop!" before the two small water Pokemon began to leap around in circles playfully.

"Sure, I'm down. What do you think Mudkip?" Ian asked the amphibian Pokemon, who responded with a quick "Kip!" and he bobbed his head, as if to nod. "Alright, let's go," Ian said, smiling back at Lana as they brought the two water types over the small edge of the moat, so they were looking down it, all the way to the end.

While they were walking over, Charmander walked over to Kiawe and Turtonator, causing the taller fire type Pokemon to lean down to greet him. Charmander let out a small fireball, and Turtonator did the same, which seemed to entertain the small fire lizard. It reached up and grabbed on to the top of Turtonator's head and tried to hoist himself up. Isla was gonna grab her partner Pokemon, but Turtonator didn't seem to mind as it helped Charmander up before rising up to its full height while Charmander sat on top of it, waving his arms happily. Isla and Kiawe just smirked at each other as the fire types hit it off right away.

Meanwhile, back over with the male twin and Lana, their Pokemon standing at the edge of the moat in front of them. "Alright. Both Mudkip and Popplio will swim to the other edge of the moat and back. Neither of you are allowed to use any moves, just your regular speed. First one back wins!" Mallow said, acting as the official. Professor Kukui stood on the opposite end of the moat, to make sure both the water Pokemon touched the edge of the moat before turning back. "3… 2, 1, GO!" Mallow said, starting off slowly, but immediately speeding up and catching them off guard. Both Mudkip and Popplio leaped into the pool and fired off like torpedoes. Even some of the youngest water-types were ridiculously fast when they reached water, and these two were no exceptions.

For the majority of the race, it was a back and forth, but it was when they reached the other edge, Popplio took the lead. Popplio, from all of its previous races, knew the best way to flip under the water to easily kick off the edge and shoot back down the moat. Meanwhile, Mudkip just tapped the other edge before turning around and shooting back down, but at a big disadvantage.

As they both raced down the moat, Mudkip was gaining on Popplio, but in the end, Popplio leaped out of the water in front of their trainer, a look of absolute happiness on its face as it stood up and clapped its flippers together. Mudkip leaped out of the water in front of Ian not a moment later, looking a bit disappointed by the loss. Ian got down on one knee and patted the amphibian Pokemon on the head and said, "You did great. You almost had them even though it was your first race. We'll get them next time."

"It was really close," Lana encouraged the small Pokemon, before continuing while looking over to Ian, "We should do this again, but next time at the beach so we have more room and we can make the race more elaborate!"

Ian grinned and replied, "Sounds good to me." Mudkip had also perked up as they talked, and now looked very determined before stomping its tiny paw down and letting out a ferocious (but still quite adorable), "Mudkip!"

"Pop!" the seal Pokemon said, clapping its flippers again as it seemed to smile at Mudkip with the same determination.

"Hey, whenever you guys have a rematch, be sure to let me know. Seeing Ian lose again would be a good time," Isla said with a smug grin as Ian just rolled his eyes at his sister.

The class continued to mess around in the yard with the Pokemon, but when there was an hour left, Kukui finally called them back to class. Mudkip and Charmander sat on the desks of their respective partners, while Lycanroc and Decidueye sat beside the twins. Obviously, the other Pokemon sat with their respective trainers as well, in whatever way was most comfortable or convenient for them.

"Alright, how many trials are there in total?" Kukui asked, piece of chalk in hand as he addressed the class. They'd been talking about the nature of them for a while, and they didn't have much time left.

Ian's hand went up before the rest, so Kukui pointed to him and he answered, "Thirteen, including grand trials and excluding the unofficial trials and other ways of obtaining certain Z-Crystals."

"Right," Kukui said, and began to write on the chalkboard. He wrote three headers, those being 'Trials,' 'Grand Trials,' and 'Miscellaneous.' Under 'Trials', there was: Dragon, Electric, Fairy, Fire, Ghost, Grass, Normal, Psychic, and Water. Under 'Grand Trials' was: Dark, Fighting, Ground, and Rock. Finally, under 'Miscellaneous'' was: Pokemon Specific, Bug, Poison, Flying, Steel, Ice, and ?.

"See, these thirteen are considered to be apart of the Island Challenge because certain trials or tasks stand in the way of obtaining them and because they have trial captains or Kahunas to preside over them. However, there are Pokemon specific Z-Crystals that can only be used by those Pokemon, such as the Eevium Z, which can be found somewhere on the islands. The same is true for the remaining types, though it's possible there's a Totem Pokemon to guard them. Finally, there are still Z-Crystals being discovered, so it's possible we there are more Pokemon specific crystals out there." Kukui explained to the class, with some like Lillie and Ian taking down detailed notes, while Isla jotted down what she thought was the most useful. She thought Z-Moves were awesome, but knowing all this stuff off the top of your head was what she had Ian around for.

"Professor Kukui, I've read a lot about the Island Challenge, but I've never been able to find out anything specific about the trials. Why is that?" Lillie asked, raising her hand.

"So that participants can't prepare. It's meant to test people under intense circumstances, to see if they're truly worthy of a Z-Crystal. Someone can guide or help you in your trial, but it needs to be mostly you. Not to mention, they really don't get much out of it since they won't be able to use your Z-Crystal," Kukui answered. It wasn't a moment after he finished saying this did they all hear the bell ring, and everyone began packing up. "Alright, everyone, guess that'll do it for today. I'll see you all tomorrow. Ian and Isla, good luck with your guardians," Kukui said.

"Thanks," the twins said in unison as they shoved their notebooks and other supplies into their bags. The students all made their way out, the twins waving good-bye to Kiawe as he flew off on his Charizard, Lillie got into the car that had come to pick her up, and Mallow walking a different route to get back to her house. The only student that traveled with the twins was Lana, which was rather routine for them, like meeting up with her on the way to school. They all chatted for a bit, mainly about, you know, the legendary Pokemon the twins had battled today, as well as a little bit about future races between Popplio and Mudkip. Speaking of Ian's starter, said Pokemon had taken a page out of Popplio's book and was riding on top of Ian's head. Isla was carrying Charmander in her arms, while their guardians' Pokemon walked side by side with them.

"See ya tomorrow guys," Lana said as she split off from the twins, with the twins waving back to her.

The twins finally arrived at home, and Isla called, "We're back!" They threw their bags down as Lycanroc and Decidueye walked further inside, looking for their respective trainers.

"We're in the living room! Come here, I want to see your new partners," the voice of Stonewalker called back from inside. As they walked into the room, Gae-El and Stonewalker were greeting their Pokemon as they walked up to them, before they turned their attention to Ian and Isla. "Well, good to see you're already getting along," Stonewalker said, smiling at Ian's Mudkip, who was still on his head, and then over at Charmander in Isla's arms. She then reached out to Charmander and asked, "Can I?" Isla handed over her Pokemon to her motherly figure, who held the fire lizard happily.

"Ah!" Ian yelped as Mudkip leapt off his head and towards Gae-El to meet him, looking small in comparison to the goliath of a man, who caught the water Pokemon in his arms easily.

Gae-El smiled as he held the Mudkip in his arms, but then frowned slightly. "He's a little scratched up. Did you two battle each other?" he asked them.

The twins shared a look before Ian started, "We did battle, but it wasn't against each other or the other students. We actually battled… Tapu Koko. After the battle, we used a lot of potions, but I guess we didn't fix everything."

There was a long silence as Gae-El and Stonewalker really studied the twins, gauging if they were serious or if this was some kind of joke, but they could tell the two redheads were completely serious. Gae-El walked to the kitchen and opened the cabinet where they kept the potions and other medical equipment, while Stonewalker continued, "You two fought an island guardian, with just your starters?"

"No, Lycanroc and Decidueye helped out too. And after the battle we both got these from Tapu Koko," Isla said, bringing out her sparkling stone, and Ian did the same as Gae-El walked back in, a couple of potions in one arm for the other Pokemon and held Mudkip in the other arm.

"Professor Kukui said these could be turned into Z-Rings," Ian said, and it was Gae-El and Stonewalker's turn to share a look before they turned back to the twins.

"That's certainly... something," Stonewalker said as they all sat down and she took a potion from Gae-El, and began to spray it on Charmander's small wounds he still had after the battle. "And I guess you two would like to start the Island Challenge early now, right?"

"I mean, yeah! We got these from a legendary Pokemon, that's gotta mean something," Isla pleaded, Ian also looking expectant at their guardians.

Stonewalker look a bit uncertain, but Gae-El said, "It would only be by half a year. Not to mention that you and I started the challenge as soon as we got our starters."

Stonewalker took a moment to look between all three of them, before she just smiled and said, "Alright, fair enough. Tapu Koko is considered to be the guardian spirit of battle, so I guess he sees something in you two and your Pokemon. And if these are any indication, he wants you two to start getting stronger as soon as possible."

The twins beamed at the news, before Ian asked, "So, we gotta give these to Kahuna Hala right? And then he'll turn them into Z-Rings?"

"Yep. It would probably be smart to get those to him as soon as possible since the process usually takes about a day. You two can go now if you want, but be sure to be home in time for dinner," Stonewalker told them, and Gae-El just nodded in agreement. "Oh, and take these as well," she continued, walking into Gae-El and her room and returning with two handfuls of miniaturized Pokeballs and giving one handful each to both twins.

"Alright, thanks. See you later!" Isla called, making a mad dash towards the door, as if the sooner she got there would make some kind of difference in how long they took to make. Charmander leapt out of Stonewalker's arms and followed after his trainer.

Ian went after her after saying a quick, "We'll be back later!" to Gae-El and Stonewalker as Gae-El set Mudkip down so he could trot after Ian. Lycanroc and Decidueye let the twins leave with their Pokemon, not making any attempt to follow so that the twins could begin to rely more on their own Pokemon partners.

* * *

It wasn't a long walk to Kahuna Hala's house from the twins' home. They were there in around 5-10 minutes, and Isla knocked on the door as soon as they arrived. She knew if Ian was the one knocking, they'd be here all night, so best just to cut to the chase.

A few moments passed, and just as Isla raised her fist to knock again, they heard a voice call from inside, "I'm here, I'm here!" The door opened and they were greeted with the sight of the rather large Island Kahuna. He took a moment to register the twins, before he grinned and said, "Ian, Isla! Good to see you two! Finally got some partners huh?"

"Yeah, but that's not the only reason we're here," Ian said, as the twins brought out their sparkling stones, causing Hala to raise an eyebrow.

"Well now, where did you two find these?" the Kahuna asked, and the twins explained what had happened earlier at school with Tapu Koko, and then how their guardians had been okay with them taking the Island Challenge early. All the while, Hala just listened and nodded, before he said, "Well, I'll still need to confirm with them if they're okay with it. I'll give them a call, but I'll still take these and get them made for you. Come back tomorrow for them, and we'll even have a celebration for you two!"

"Hell yeah!" Isla said, grinning at the idea of a party. "Thanks Hala, see you tomorrow," she continued, handing him the sparkling stone as Ian did the same.

"See you then," he replied, giving them a small wave before he closed the door. However, as Ian and Isla began walking away, Ian noticed that Isla was headed in the direction of the forest instead of home.

"Hey, where are you going?" Ian asked his sister.

"To catch Pokemon, duh. We got plenty of time," Isla replied, pulling out one of the miniaturized empty Pokeballs and beginning to throw it up and catch it repeatedly.

"I guess that wouldn't be the worst idea," Ian mused, until he felt a vibration in his pocket. He pulled out his phone and saw that he was getting a call from Lillie, so he told Isla, "I gotta take this real quick."

Isla just shrugged and rolled her eyes, and continued on into the forest with Charmander at her side. Ian just rolled his eyes before answering the call and saying, "Uh, hi Lillie, what's up?"

"Hi Ian, I've got someone here who wants to talk to you," Lillie told him, and Ian was confused about who that might be. He could hear someone talk in the background, but couldn't make out the words or who the voice belongs to.

Ian heard the phone being passed off to someone else, and was surprised when he heard Gladion of all people tell him, "Ian, I want to talk in person. Meet me at the fountain in Hau'oli City in about an hour, just you and your Pokemon."

"Wait, Gladion what are you…" Ian trailed off as he heard said edgelord hang up as he just rolled his eyes and muttered, "Asshole." The redheaded boy took a minute to consider whether or not he should actually meet up with Lillie's brother. He looked over to where Isla had walked off, then shrugged and began to walk back to the city. He scooped up his Mudkip and set him on his head, where Mudkip seemed to like riding. He could only wonder what Gladion would want with him since they'd barely ever talked, and that curiosity was enough to convince Ian to meet him.

Meanwhile, with Isla, she and Charmander were making their way through the woods. However, while she said that she was going to catch Pokemon, there was only one Pokemon she had in mind. It was a Pokemon she had known for sometime now, maybe around a year and a half. The Pokemon had been hurt when Isla found her, and it hadn't been willing to trust her at first. Just to be able to apply a potion to fix her wounds, Isla had to lure it out with food, before holding it down to heal it. The Pokemon had fought her at first, but once she realized it made her feel better, she didn't fight it as much.

However, that Pokemon still hadn't trusted her. So, everyday, Isla visited the home of this Pokemon, bringing it food and trying to bond with it. Things had been going well, until Isla had overestimated how much this wild Pokemon had liked her, when she tried to bring a Pokeball to try and catch the Pokemon as her starter. The Pokemon had seemed to recognize the Pokeball and what it meant, and it had resisted captured and she'd gone right back to distrusting Isla. It had taken a long time for Isla to earn that trust again, which is why she hadn't attempted another try, until now. With Charmander, if she couldn't convince the Pokemon to join her, she could battle her and catch the Pokemon that way.

Isla was pulled from her thoughts when she realized they had finally arrived at the den of the Pokemon in question. It wasn't much, just a shallow cave carved into the ground, and inside was a pile of leaves, though no Pokemon were visible. "Char?" her partner Pokemon seemed to ask, looking up at Isla in confusion.

"We're here to meet someone," Isla said, and she smirked when a pair of long brown ears popped out of the pile of leaves, which was clearly a nest of some sort. The Pokemon leapt out of the nest and cheerfully let out an "Eevee!" as she recognized Isla. The small brown furred Pokemon stepped forward, until it seemed to notice Charmander's presence. The sight of the unfamiliar Pokemon confused Eevee, causing her to tilt her head to the side.

"Hey Eevee. This is my new partner, Charmander," Isla introduced, as Eevee approached cautiously. However, Charmander walked right up to Eevee and, despite the fact that Eevee suddenly tensed, wrapped its little arms around Eevee in a hug to greet the new Pokemon. This proved to further confuse Eevee, but eventually she just seemed to accept it, causing Isla to smile at the sight.

She then breathed in, and then out again as Charmander released Eevee from the hug. She crouched down so that she was closer to Eevee's eye level and said, "So, I tried this once, but last time you fought me on it. Charmander is going to be coming with me, and I'd really like you to come with me too." She slowly brought a Pokeball, and as soon as Eevee saw it, she leapt backwards. Isla immediately dropped the Pokeball and backed off. She wanted to catch Eevee, but the last thing she wanted to do was lose Eevee's trust again. Eevee looked between the Pokeball and Isla suspiciously, but then she looked over at Charmander and back to Isla. Eevee slowly approached the Pokeball, glanced at Isla one more time, and then reached out with her paw and tapped the button on the ball. It popped open and pulled Eevee in with a flash of light. Isla let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding as the Pokeball began to shake: Once… Twice… and finally a third time, signifying the Pokemon had been successfully captured.

"Ha ha!" Isla cheered, immediately snatching up the Pokeball and popping out Eevee, before snatching both her and Charmander in a hug. However, as she cheered, she didn't realize that there was a pair of solid blue eyes watching her from the branches of a nearby tree. The creature made something akin to a giggle as it watched Isla cheer in the clearing with her Pokemon. It never revealed itself, choosing instead to fly deeper into the woods, without ever letting on to Isla that someone else had ever been in the clearing.

* * *

**AND FINALLY DONE. This took far longer than I would've liked after such a positive response for the first chapter. However, this is a relatively uneventful chapter (at least in my opinion), and is mainly focused on setup for future events. But I thought I should at least do give you guys something, so I added in Isla and Eevee at the end there, as well as a certain hint to something in the future.**

**Also, I figured I shouldn't wait too long to give Isla her Eevee, just in case Carrie would try and track me down and do the violence at me for taking too long. She's already demanding side stories, so I wouldn't put it past her.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Just wanted to do a quick shout-out to King_Hubris on Twitter for his amazing art of Ian and Mudkip that I'm currently using for the thumbnail. He's an amazing artist, so please go give him your support!**

* * *

Ian tapped his foot on the ground as he checked the time on his phone while he stood in front of the fountain. It was at the center of the city, so many people and Pokemon were passing through, but no sign of Gladion. It was already 5 minutes passed when they were supposed to have met, and Ian was starting to get irritated. Mudkip was at least having a good time, since he was playing around in the fountain with some of the other Pokemon whose trainers were hanging out around the fountain.

Another couple minutes passed, and Ian was ready to call Mudkip over to go, until he finally saw the blond edgelord making his way through the crowd towards him, his Umbreon matching his pace beside him. "About time. What did you want to talk about?" Ian asked him.

"Not here. We need to go somewhere with less people," Gladion told him.

"Then why did you ask me to meet here?" Ian asked him, looking at him like he was an idiot.

"Because asking you to some secluded spot in the forest isn't very specific and…" Gladion trailed off, as he scanned the crowd, like he was looking for someone. Ian also looked, but didn't see anything that really stood out other than tourists and Alolans going about their everyday business. "Because I didn't want to say it over the phone, even if it wasn't mine," Gladion continued, making some red flags go up in Ian's mind. Was someone after his classmate or something? "Come on," Gladion said, making his way through the crowd once more, clearly expecting Ian to follow.

The redhead took a moment to actually consider whether or not that was a safe choice given the vibe Gladion was giving off along with the idea that someone was hunting the blonde, but eventually he called Mudkip over. If nothing else, he could satisfy his curiosity and then immediately get out of there. So with Mudkip in his arms, Ian followed Gladion and Umbreon through the crowd.

For a while, Ian was just tailing his classmate through the city, until Gladion and his partner ducked into an alleyway. As Ian turned the corner, he found that there were other people in the alleyway, and he couldn't help but sigh as he saw them. There were three people, two guys and a girl. All three of them were dressed in black and white and had their faces mostly covered. They were members of Team Skull, a group of thugs (were they even that?) who were all over Alola. Honestly, they were more of a nuisance than a real threat. Any trouble they caused was usually handled by the police, but even some wandering trainers could solve the problem. There were very few trainers who were even any good among their ranks. "Get lost," Gladion told them.

"Yo! You can't just-" one of them started, producing a Pokeball from his pocket, but he froze when Umbreon started growling and both trainer and Pokemon were giving them icy glares.

"I'm not going to repeat myself," Gladion said, and that was all the Team Skull Grunts needed as they turned tail and ran towards the other exit of the alley, one of them looking back and screaming something like 'You'll be sorry!' Gladion watched them run off, and waited a few moments after they had disappeared before he finally turned back to Ian. He pulled out an orange folder from his bag and tossed it to Ian haphazardly. He quickly shifted so he was holding Mudkip in one arm so he could catch the folder. Ian scowled at Gladion, at least he did until Gladion said, "It has to do with your dad."

Ian set Mudkip down on the ground before he slowly opened the folder. The first thing to catch his eye was the obvious watermark next to his dad's picture at the top of the folder. It was the Aether Foundation's logo, which wasn't all that surprising. His dad had been doing work for the Foundation since before he had moved the twins out to Alola, opting to travel back and forth between Galar and Alola. He had known Gae-El and Stonewalker before he took the job, so he stayed with them while he was in Alola, which is also where their whole family had stayed when they came out to visit him, Gae-El, and Stonewalker for vacations. However, after their mother died, Quantavious had moved them out to Alola permanently. And not long after, he had disappeared without a word.

Shoving those thoughts to the back of his head for now, Ian began to skim the papers. The first one seemed to be a standard file on Quantavious that the Aether Foundation would keep. It listed his birthplace, being Galar, his history as a scientist, his family, etc. It was a lot of standard stuff that Ian either knew about his dad or things that didn't seem all that important to him right now. Not to mention, he wanted to skip over the part their detailed their mother's death in the crossfire of two battling gangs in Galar. However, his interest was sparked again when he reached the end of the file, where it briefly talked about the work his dad had been doing for the Aether Foundation. It went as such:

_'Quantavious McCraken's cooperation in the study of the Ultra Wormholes as well as the Ultra Beasts has been indispensable. However, his work in the development of countermeasures is the most noteworthy. We've made great strides during his management of the development of the RKS System as well as the creation of a suitable vessel for the system.'_

That paragraph alone was enough to confuse the hell out of the redhead. His dad had never talked much about the work he did with the Aether Foundation on Aether Paradise, the foundation's HQ, but he had said it had something to do with researching the unique Pokemon in the region. Like figuring out why certain Pokemon were different on Alola than in other places. But he'd never heard anything about Ultra Wormholes, let alone Ultra Beasts. The RKS System didn't ring a bell either, and the way it talked about creating a suitable vessel…

However, before Ian could get too carried away with that train of thought, he saw that there was one more sentence, and it was large and in red. His eyes went wide as soon as he read it.

'_Find and and detain this man at all costs.'_

"Read the other files," Gladion told him after he saw the shocked expression on Ian's face. He moved Quantavious' file to the side and began reading the next one. This one went into more detail about the work his dad had been doing. It described how an Ultra Wormhole was a gateway to another world or reality, and that there was only one officially recorded sighting of one of these opening in the past. It was also during that event did they discover Ultra Beasts as well, as an odd creature unlike anything they of their world had passed through it and into our world. The creature had been absurdly powerful, taking several skilled trainers working together to even push it back into the Wormhole. A picture of both the Wormhole and the creature were on the next page. The Ultra Wormhole looked like what you would expect from a portal, just a big tear in the sky, couldn't even see what's on the other side. The creature on the other hand seem to be floating in the air as well, and looked similar to what we would know as a jellyfish. Truly, it looked alien-like, so it wasn't hard to understand why they would draw conclusions to this creature being from another world.

Ian turned to the last page, and this one talked about the RKS system and the 'suitable vessel.' The RKS system was a biomechanical system that, once integrated into a Pokemon, would theoretically allow it to change type through the use of certain discs known as Memories. It's based on the myth that Arceus had a similar ability by using primordial plates that detailed events from long ago, which is why it was named the RKS system, based on the pronunciation of Arceus. However, the disturbing part was when it started talking about the vessel in question. After a few 'tests,' the details of which were suspiciously vague here, it was determined that the RKS system was incompatible with any known Pokemon. So, they decided to create their own Pokemon through genetic experimentation, a Pokemon created to be the perfect host for the RKS system. They called it, Silvally and a picture was shown, and it definitely looked like something that could be cooked up in a lab. The file even listed all of its known moves: Crush Claw, Air Slash, Swords Dance, and a move known as Multi-Attack. It was a unique move that would change typing based on the type of Memory Silvally was using. They had hit a few roadblocks, but when Quantavius took over, progress resumed. Eventually the Pokemon was successfully created, and the RKS system was integrated into it. They had begun experimenting with the Memories, but then Quantavious, in the course of a single day, completely ruined everything. The date was familiar to Ian, as it was a couple days before his dad had disappeared, so he imagined that wasn't a coincidence. The report detailed that Quantavious had gotten time alone with Silvally, which hadn't been difficult since he was still heading up the project. However, the next time someone went to check on Quantavious and Silvally, his dad was nowhere to be found and Silvally had some odd helmet-like contraption attached to its head. The report went on to say that Silvally had completely ignored its handlers, and when they were forced to fight it, Silvally seemed weaker than before. Not to mention, the RKS system was completely sealed up, unable to be used. However when the hidden camera footage was checked, it was revealed that after Quantavious had attached the helmet to Type Null, it still obeyed his commands, so they theorized that the helmet was influencing it in some way.

So until further notice, Silvally, or rather Type Null as they had begun to refer to it as, was being kept in its Pokeball most of the time, only being released when they had something to test on it. The R&D department was doing their best, but their efforts so far were unsuccessful, so they were also looking for the source of the problem, Quantavious himself. However, unlike Gae-El, Stonewalker, Isla, and himself, who had no leads, they'd found something. Quantavious managed to cover up his trail pretty well, but the Aether Foundation, with all its resources, had managed to find a lead on how he'd gotten off Alola. His bank account had transferred a large amount of money to another account, somewhere in Kalos. Not to mention, a few eyewitness accounts revealed a seaplane had landed near the shore of Alola, before taking off again not long after. The authorities had been mobilized to make contact with it, since it was unauthorized to land, but it was gone too quickly. They had teams sent to Kalos to find what they could, but so far they had come back with nothing.

Ian took a moment to digest everything he had read, before he closed the folder and handed it back to Gladion. He asked, "Okay, why are you telling me this? If your mom thinks I know where my dad is, then I'm sorry. I don't know anything." Gladion and Lillie's mother was the head of the Aether Foundation, so it was unreasonable to think she had put him up to this.

"I don't care where your dad is, I care about getting Silvally out of there," Gladion told him. When Ian just looked at him with confusion, he elaborated, "It says they're running tests, but I managed to get a glimpse of one of them. Trust me, it's more like torture. And I'm sure my mother is well aware of what's going on."

"Okay, but what does this have to do with me?" Ian asked, still confused.

"I have a theory about that helmet your dad put on Silvally. So far, they've only seen it follow your dad's commands. It's possible your dad didn't just make himself the only one who can order Silvally around. He might've added in you and your sister as well," Gladion said.

"How can you be sure that's the case?" Ian asked him.

"I can't, but it's the best chance we got. Look, I want to help Silvally, and I you're the best chance I have to get that Pokemon to come along willingly. Or as willing as it can be with that damn thing on its head. No matter what you might think about me, I do love Pokemon, and what my mother is doing to Silvally on Aether Paradise is unforgivable," Gladion said, clenching his fist, memories of Silvally being tested on running through his mind again.

"Look, I get where you're coming from, but you're talking about breaking into Aether Paradise and stealing a Pokemon, not to mention a highly confidential Pokemon," Ian said, turning away and making his way towards the exit of the alley. There was only one man made Pokemon that had ever been officially given the okay, and that was Porygon. However, there had been many restrictions on the creation and had been monitored carefully, as to make sure there was nothing shady going on. They didn't want them exploiting this new lifeform or treating it inhumanely. Which was probably why nothing on Silvally had ever been publicly released. It gave them a whole lot more freedom with customizing it, as much as it disgusted Ian to think about some poor creature being modified to gross extents. "Maybe you should just call the authorities. You got all the evidence you need in that folder."

"There's no telling what would happen to Silvally if the authorities took it away. And are you telling me you're okay with walking away knowing there's a Pokemon suffering?" Gladion asked him, causing Ian to stop.

Ian was quiet for a long moment as he thought about it. He just sighed and turned back to Gladion, Mudkip still in his arms. "Look, let's say for the sake of argument I'm in. I don't to walk away from a Pokemon my dad hurt, but I won't be much help with just Mudkip. I love'em, but if we get into a battle, he's been in one battle."

"Yeah, against Tapu Koko. And from what Lillie told me, it took an electric attack and managed to stand back up, even though it wasn't easy. By the sound of it, Tapu Koko was probably holding back if Mudkip didn't faint, but that's still quite a feat for a water-type Pokemon," Gladion pointed out, which Ian couldn't deny. "But ideally, we don't battle. We get in, we get out with Silvally, and they're none the wiser until they go to torture it some more. By then, we're long gone. However, if something goes wrong, it would be good if you had a trick up your sleeve."

Ian raised an eyebrow and asked, "What did you have in mind?"

"Lillie told me about how you and your sister got stones from Tapu Koko that can be made into Z-Rings, which means you'll be able to use a Z-Move once it's finished. So, we should probably go after the water Z-Crystal since it will be the most beneficial to your Mudkip," Gladion explained.

"Alright… The water trial is on Akala Island, right?" Ian asked him, to which he got a nod in response.

"We need to go right away, every second is precious," Gladion said, turning away to lead Ian somewhere else.

"Wait, you mean like right now?! I gotta talk to Gae-El and Stonewalker, let them know where I'm going, and-" Ian started, before Gladion glared back at him.

"There's a Pokemon, in pain, maybe even right now, and we need to GO!" Gladion shouted at him, and it made Ian hesitate.

Eventually, Ian just sighed and nodded, "You're right. Let's go." Gladion just nodded, satisfied with this answer, and he and his Umbreon led the way as Ian put Mudkip back on his head and followed after the blond edgelord, while also pulling out his phone and sending a quick message to Gae-El about what he was doing.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the beach, while tourists and natives to Alola alike played in the sand and in the water, two Pokemon were trading blows and one trainer stood on the sidelines, giving both of them commands as a form of training. "Charmander, Scratch! Eevee, Quick Attack!" Isla called to both of them.

The tips of Charmander's claws glowed white while Eevee charged forward at breakneck speeds. Charmander attempted to hit Eevee with his claws, but she was too quick for him and got on his left, before slamming into the fire lizard. Charmander tumbled backwards, but managed to regain its footing and stop itself. "Eevee, Bite! And Charmander, use Smoke Screen!" Isla told them. Eevee leapt into the air, energy appearing around her in the form of jaws to perform the attack, but was interrupted as Charmander began to spew black smoke from his mouth and towards Eevee. The smoke got into Eevee's eyes and mouth, severely throwing off its aim and allowing Charmander to easily side step Eevee's Bite attack. "Now Charmander Ember! And I want you to dodge it Eevee!" At Isla's command, Charmander summoned up flames from inside it and it shot a small fireball towards Eevee as she landed, but she was nimble enough to dodge out of the way with only a small window of time.

However, what Isla didn't consider, was what had been behind Eevee when she called for the attack. The fireball continued on, and Isla's eyes widened when she realized it was heading towards a guy who was sitting on the ground, his back against a tree and a book in his hand. He seemed totally unaware of the danger he was in, so Isla screamed, "Look out!"

The boy seemed to look up, confused, and was shocked to see an incoming fireball. However, before he even did anything, a Pokemon leapt up from the other side of him, so Isla hadn't seen it previously, and stood between him and the incoming Ember. It was a Torracat, a Pokemon Isla was familiar with because she had seen it around Melemele since it was a popular starter Pokemon in Alola. It let out a Flamethrower, which collided with the Ember and easily overpowered it. As it finished its attack, the Torracat proceeded to growl at Isla and her Pokemon, clearly under the impression that they were hostile. "Whoa, okay, calm down Torracat," the boy said, standing up and tossing his book into his bag.

"Sorry," Isla told him, though she didn't approach because of the still growling Pokemon.

"Hey, don't worry about it!" he exclaimed, and Isla was taken aback with how flamboyant he was before he continued, "We've done stuff like that before too, HAVEN'T we Torracat?" Said Pokemon stopped growling and looked away, as if it was embarrassed. The boy began to pet his Torracat before he said, "My name's Jay, what about you?" Now that he wasn't in danger of getting lit on fire, she took in his appearance. He was a brunette, and a little taller than she was. Despite the naturally hot weather of Alola, he wore a long sleeved purple jacket with a black undershirt, black pants, and sneakers. He also wore glasses, but they were tinted purple and by the way he peered over them at her, she guessed they were less for his eyesight and more for accessory. However, the most interesting thing was the Z-Ring on his right wrist, a Z-Crystal actually in it. Given the fact that it was red, she would probably guess it was the Firium Z.

"Isla. You've taken the Island Challenge?" she asked him.

He held up his arm to show off his Z-Ring, and his raised eyebrow and smirk seemed to say 'What do you think?'

"Right, dumb question. I'll actually be starting on the challenge myself tomorrow after I get my Z-Ring from Kahuna Hala from the stone Tapu Koko gave me," Isla said smugly, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Really?" Jay asked her, almost sounding excited. There wasn't a drop of sarcasm in his voice, so it seemed he wholeheartedly believed her. Or at least he just wanted to. And as Isla continued to talk to him, a vague memory seemed to make its way to the front of her mind. She thought she had remembered seeing Jay around the Pokemon School on her first year. She had never talked to him, just seen him in passing. Though, the year after that, he hadn't been around, so he had probably been in the graduating class that year. She was brought back to the present when Jay asked her, "Well, I'd love to have a battle with someone Tapu Koko clearly recognizes if you're down. My Torracat against your Charmander and Eevee."

"And what makes you think I need to go two against one?" Isla asked him.

"Because you've got a starter still in its first form and you say you'll be just starting the challenge tomorrow, so you're probably a new trainer," Jay stated.

"Whaaaaat, no that's…. Let's just battle!" Isla said, as her two Pokemon got on either side of her, looking eager to battle. Torracat and Jay both backed up so they had enough space for the battle, and then the cat-like Pokemon stepped forward, getting into a battle stance.

"Alright Torracat, use Work Up!" Jay commanded, and a red glow surrounded his Pokemon, as its muscles almost seemed to grow, if only slightly as it powered up.

"Eevee, use Swift!" Isla commanded, and several glowing stars appeared from seemingly nowhere around Eevee, as they all fired off towards the opposing Pokemon. Torracat attempted to leap out of the way, but the stars followed it and immediately detonated on contact.

As the smoke from the attack dissipated, Jay shouted, "Double Kick!" Torracat leaped forward, red energy encasing both its front legs. The cat-like Pokemon got right up in Eevee's face and went to swing. Its first strike collided with Eevee, but before the second one could, Isla told Charmander, "Smoke Screen, quick!" The fire lizard spewed smoke right into Torracat's face, making it swing wildly and missing Eevee as she retreated backwards. "Now, Eevee use Quick Attack and Charmander use Scratch!" Charmander's claws glowed once more as he slashed Torracat before Eevee ran up and slammed into Torracat and it went skidding.

"Torracat, do a sweeping Flamethrower!" Jay commanded, and Torracat let loose a stream of flames and doing a sweeping motion with it across both Eevee and Charmander. Of course, Charmander was significantly less affected by the Flamethrower, but they both definitely felt that just from the power difference between them and Torracat.

Seeing that they were both still standing after that attack, Isla commanded, "Okay, now Eevee, use Double Team, and then Quick Attack!" Eevee began to create copies of herself next to her, before she charged forward once more at breakneck speeds. However, rather than command his Pokemon to dodge, Jay instead said, "Get Fire Fang ready Torracat." As Eevee neared, Torracat had complete faith in its trainer, so it just stared down Eevee. "Wait for it…" Eevee continued her approach, the copies doing so as well, but Torracat held its ground. Just as she reached Fire Fang's effective range, the copies all changed course so they were all heading for Torracat as to not give away which was the real one. "Leap back and attack, NOW!" Jay commanded, and Torracat did exactly that. As Torracat leapt backwards into the air, all of the copies coalesced where it had once been, as large jaws of flames appeared in front of Torracat, and slammed down on poor Eevee. As the dust cleared after the attack, Isla saw that her Pokemon had been knocked out, and therefore could no longer battle. However, before she could make any more commands to Charmander, Torracat stepped in front of Eevee as Jay crossed his arms in front of himself. Isla immediately paled when she saw the Z-Ring begin to glow, recognizing this as a Z-Move. "Charmander, you gotta stop him. Uh, use Ember!" Isla shouted in a panic, and he immediately shot a small fireball at the cat, but it was too late as Jay went through the motions of the fire type Z-Move.

He made the gesture of a rising fire, before holding his arm out, a red aura of Z-Power surrounding him. He shouted, "Torracat, use Inferno Overdrive!" The aura transferred itself from Jay to Torracat, as it raised its head to the sky as flames appeared from nowhere, coalescing into a truly massive fireball above it. "TORRACAT!" the Pokemon roared, launching the fireball at Charmander. The Ember was nothing compared to this attack, as it was easily consumed on its path to Charmander. The poor fire lizard had no room to dodge as the fireball impacted, resulting in a large explosion. As the smoke cleared, there was a large crater in the sand, and at the bottom was Isla's fainted starter Pokemon.

"Uh… Maybe I went a little overboard?" Jay asked, scratching the back of his head and looking a bit sheepish.

"YA THINK?!" Isla shouted at him, as she quickly descended the crater to her downed Charmander, quickly scooping him up in her arms.

"Don't worry, I got potions and revives in my bag," Jay told her, before running back to his bag over by the tree as Isla climbed out of the crater and brought Charmander over to Eevee as Jay came back with his bag. It took a moment, but eventually both of Isla's Pokemon were back on their feet. Torracat at next to them passively as Eevee trotted over to Isla, but Charmander tried to interact with the fire cat Pokemon. Torracat just tilted its head to the side, and when Charmander tried to hug Torracat like he had for Eevee, the bigger Pokemon just held out a paw and kept Charmander at arms length as the fire lizard continued to try and hug.

"Sorry about that. I just got too into the battle," Jay apologized.

"No, it's fine. But wow, those Z-Moves are ridiculous! I'm definitely gonna get the Fire Z-Crystal first," Isla stated. Jay held his hand up to his chin and thought for a minute before he snapped his fingers and grinned.

"Then why don't you just take the trial now? It's one of the simpler trials, just a straight up battle," Jay said.

"I mean, I'd love to, but it's on Akala Island. No way to get there without renting a boat or a Ride Pokemon," Isla explained.

"Easily fixed!" Jay exclaimed and finger gunning at her, before he pulled out a Pokeball. He tossed it towards the water, and a Lapras appeared in the waves. She leaned down to Jay as he petted her on the nose and said, "Hey girl! Think you can get us to Akala?"

"Lap!" the water Pokemon said happily, before spinning around in the water so they could leap onto her shell. Torracat moved away from Charmander and leapt up onto Jay's shoulder. It almost knocked him over, but Jay straightened up and just laughed it off before he got a running start and leapt onto Lapras' shell. Isla took a moment to consider this, but she just shrugged and beckoned her Pokemon over. Jay seemed alright. He'd been cool even after she had a fireball launched at him, and he seemed to treat his Pokemon well, so he seemed alright. Both Eevee and Charmander, following Torracat's example, leapt up onto both of her shoulders, and she also got onto Lapras' shell. As Lapras swam away from the beach, Isla grabbed her phone and typed a quick message about what she was doing to Stonewalker, before she just relaxed as Lapras slowly swam through waves towards the neighboring island.


	4. Chapter 4

**Quick note here, the image you see as the cover image for this fanfiction was done by a lovely person named King Hubris, and this is the finished product. He did such good work on it, and it would be awesome if you went and showed him some love on Twitter. With that said, I apologize for the long gap in between this and the last chapter, but college and other life stuff got in the way. Hopefully it won't happen again.**

* * *

Lapras swam towards Akala Island at a leisurely pace, enjoying the nice day and the warm weather. Jay had just looked back at Isla and said, "It's like I was saying, it's totally safer to fly from island to island, unless you got a great water Pokemon like this one." He gave his Lapras a pat, who looked back at him happily. Isla just nodded as she looked back. In the water behind them, there was a Sharpedo trapped in a large cube of ice, and she was pretty sure it was still glaring at them. It had leaped out of the water at them, and while Isla had been totally ready to have either Charmander or Eevee use some kind of attack, Jay and Lapras had been pretty nonchalant about it. One Ice Beam later, and the problem had been solved.

"Yeah. So, hey, I was wondering, what's the fire trial like?" Isla asked him curiously.

"It's one of the most straight forward. The trial is to climb Wela Volcano on the marked path and battle any Pokemon that get in your way. When you get to the top, you'll need to battle the Totem Pokemon. Ya beat it, you get the Z-Crystal, then you come back down. Don't worry, nothing will bother you on the way down unless you pick a fight," Jay explained.

"What's the Totem Pokemon?" Isla asked him, but she frowned when Jay just smirked and shook his head.

"I could tell you, but what fun would that be? No one told me going in, and I was fine. You've got 'nothing' to worry about," he said, still smiling, but Isla could hear in the emphasis on 'nothing' that he was holding back a real shit-eating grin.

"Well, is there anything you can tell me?" Isla asked him.

"I feel like I've told you a bit already, but I'll let you know that every Pokemon that's going to battle you will be at least partially a fire-type, so…" Jay trailed off, before nodding towards the water. Isla looked down at all the passing Pokemon, and then back at the Sharpedo, wondering if she could throw a Pokeball far enough back to catch it.

However, she thought better of it. "I mean, a Sharpedo would be awesome, but I wouldn't even be able to use it half the time! Where are all the water types that can go on land?!" Isla complained, continuing to scan the water.

"...Maybe on land?" Jay suggested, but immediately backed off after she gave him a look. "Oh look at that, we're almost there!" he said quickly, looking over to Akala Island, of which they could only be a few minutes away. Isla also noticed that there were groups of Pokemon sitting on the beach, so she figured it they could take a quick detour on their way to Wela Volcano.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ian was panting as he tried to catch his breath, while Gladion was just leaning against a tree, waiting impatiently for someone. "Remind me again…. Why we needed… to rush?" The city hadn't really been near a beach besides the popular one, which wasn't going to work for what Gladion had planned, or at least that's what he claimed. So instead, Gladion rushed them out to a secluded edge of the island, emphasis on rushed.

"Because you're ride to Akala is waiting," Gladion said, trying to make a show of straightening up and not being tired like him. But Ian wasn't an idiot. Gladion was wearing a hoodie for crying out loud! He was probably sweating bullets most of the time, and just tried not to show it. But that was neither here nor there, as Ian focused on his words instead.

"My ride? But I didn't see you message anyone on the way over. Did you have business on Akala anyways?" Ian asked him, straightening up himself as he picked up his Mudkip, who had been looking over his partner with concern.

"No, I'm not going with you to Akala. I'm staying here and training my own Pokemon while you're collecting the Z-Crystal," Gladion told him, as they began walking again, now that they had both caught their breath.

"Then why did you have a ride prepared?

"Because I knew you'd agree."

"What, how?!"

"You're too nice," was the only explanation that Gladion offered him, and didn't seem to react to the look Ian shot at him. "He's a friend of one of the Island Kahunas, and he owed me a favor, so he's gonna take you to Akala and then bring you back," Gladion went on to explain.

"I see," Ian mused, as they finally exited the forest and walked out onto an unpopulated beach. Well, unpopulated besides one person and one Pokemon. The Pokemon was a Noivern, a large bat-like flying/dragon Pokemon that could easily carry a person or two, which is how he figured they'd be getting to Akala. The guy on the other hand… well there was no good way to put it, he looked like a stoner.

"Yo, Gladion! This the kid?" the man asked, pointing finger guns at Ian, who was just giving him a skeptical look. After the blond just gave him a nod, the man grabbed Ian's free hand, the one not holding Mudkip, and began shaking it and saying, "Sweet, name's Briar, nice to meet ya!"

"I'm Ian," the redhead replied, with rather uncertainty.

"Whelp, no time to waste then. Let's get moving kid. See ya Gladion!" the man said, letting go of Ian and saddling up on his Noivern and gesturing for him to get on behind him.

"Alright, uh, guess I'll see you later after I get back?" Ian said, looking away from Briar over to Gladion… only to see him and his Umbreon already walking away. He just waved back at him and said nothing, while Ian just gave him a deadpan stare. The redhead sighed, and reluctantly got on the back of the Noivern, making sure he was holding onto Mudkip tightly.

"Alright, here we GO!" Briar called out, as Noivern stretches its wings, and after a powerful beat of its wings, they shot into the air. Ian gribbed the seat with one hand and Mudkip with the other, which unfortunately left him without a hand to hold on to his glasses. The wind pushed them off of his face rather easily, but Mudkip saw this happening. He wiggled out of Ian's grip, and went for the glasses. Ian cried out for his partner the second he leapt out of his arms, and thanks to his reflexes and a bit of luck, he managed to grab onto Mudkip's tail, while said Pokemon grabbed Ian's glasses in his mouth. Ian just glared at the back of Briar's head, who hadn't even seemed to notice.

However, neither noticed a woman step out onto the beach they had been at previously, who's uniform bore the symbol of the Aether Foundation. She watched them take off further for a moment, before she pulled out a radio and changed its frequency before saying into it: "Coastal Team Beta, report."

A voice responded on the other end almost immediately, "The target arrived with a redhead boy to meet with a man and a Noivern. The redhead was holding a Mudkip, just like you said he would be. Gladion exited back into the woods, and the redhead got on the Noivern and took off. How would you like us to proceed, ma'am?"

The woman silently breathed in and out. Of course Gladion wouldn't make this easy on them, but she hadn't expected anything less from him at this point. She had been lucky that someone had pointed her in his direction in town, but before she had managed to catch up to either of them, he made a break for it with that redheaded boy. She realized they were heading for the beach, so she made sure one of their coastal lookout teams was made aware in case Gladion tried to get off the island. "Alert the ground teams on Melemele to Gladion's last known location," she decided.

"And the other two?"

The woman used her free hand to pull out an Ultra Ball before she spoke into the radio again, "I'll pursue them myself."

"Of course Admin Fannon," the voice said before Orla turned off her radio and put it away, before tossing out her Ultra Ball, causing her Metagross to appear. It had a harness strapped to it with a seat, so that it could be comfortably ridden. Orla walked up to it, and the Metagross kindly used Psychic to levitate Orla up and into the seat and let her sit down and strap in.

"Follow them," Orla ordered it calmly, pointing up at the Noivern with two passengers, who was pretty high in the sky at this point and still making its way towards Akala Island.

"Meta!" the pokemon said, floating up into the air with its Psychic and shot out over the water, following its master's commands as Orla just focused her gaze on her targets.

* * *

Elsewhere, Jay and Isla had already landed on Akala Island, and now they were searching the beach for a good water Pokemon for Isla. Or rather, Isla and her Pokemon were. Jay, on the other hand, was just riding on the back of his Lapras, who swam side by side with Isla as she walked. Torracat was curled up, enjoying the sunny weather, on Lapras' shell next to Jay, while said trainer was just lying down and propping his head up with his arm. "So how long are you gonna be at this?" Jay asked, peering over his shades at her.

"I just gotta find one good water type, that shouldn't be so hard!" Isla called back as she kept looking. Eevee and Charmander were also doing their part. Well, Eevee was helping by trying to catch the scent of any Pokemon. Charmander… was doing his best by looking around with Isla and digging through the sand. However, their answer finally appeared in the form of a small group of little blue Pokemon that emerged from the surf and waddled out onto the beach. It was a small group of Poliwag, who were all just playing around. It seemed to be some kind of water type version of tag, where they all ran around until one Poliwag sprayed another with a low powered version of Water Gun, and then that one went after the rest of them and did the same.

"Oh, Poliwag," Jay noticed. He looked back at Isla and asked, "You thinkin about getting one?"

"Uh, maybe? What do they evolve into…?" Isla trailed off as she pulled out her phone. All it took was a quick internet search on Poliwag to bring up a quick summary on the Pokemon, as well as its evolved forms. When she saw Poliwrath and she saw that it would become a Water and Fighting type, Poliwag quickly got a lot more appealing to Isla as she grinned. She pulled out an empty Pokeball as she grinned and said, "Sure, let's give this a shot. Go, Eevee!" Eevee leapt forward, which also got the Poliwag's attention. While most of them seemed to be confused, a few a little frightened even, one in particular leaped to the forefront. It almost seemed eager as it jumped up and down. "Looks like we got a volunteer. Alright, Eevee use Swift!" As soon as Isla issued the command Eevee used her ability to create several stars and fire them at the Poliwag, who responded in kind almost immediately with a Bubblebeam. The stream of bubbles collided at the stars, and while it seemed the Swift was winning out at first, the stars slowly winked out with the constant stream of bubbles, but Eevee was easily able to dodge it.

"Now Eevee, use Quick Attack!" Isla ordered, and Eevee shot forward at breakneck speeds towards Poliwag. The tadpole Pokemon couldn't react in time as Eevee slammed into it, causing to go sprawling backwards into the sand before it managed to regain its footing. The Poliwag then leapt at Eevee, spinning in the air and striking Eevee with its tail, before landing and doing it again, making it obvious that the Pokemon had just used Double Slap. "Eevee, Bite!" Isla shouted, as the jaws of energy manifested around Eevee, before slamming on Poliwag. Dust was kicked up from the impact, so that both Eevee and Isla were unable to see Poliwag for a moment. However, the dust soon cleared, and the first thing Eevee saw was the spiral pattern on Poliwag's stomach, and it was spinning, as Poliwag used Hypnosis. Eevee tried to look away, but it was too late, as she began to wobble, before falling on her side, now asleep. Isla called out to Eevee, but the Evolution Pokemon didn't wake up, even as the Poliwag hit her with a full force Water Gun, sending Eevee flying back over to Isla.

"Well that's no good," Jay observed from his Lapras.

"I know! Shut up!" Isla shouted back at him as she got down and began shaking her Pokemon and shouting at Eevee, trying to wake her up. That managed to do the trick as Eevee slowly opened her eyes and realized what had happened. Eevee leapt to her feet, ready to continue the fight, but Poliwag was already firing another Bubblebeam. Both Eevee and Isla had to leap to either side to avoid getting hit with the stream of bubbles. "Eevee, Swift, now!" Isla called out to her Pokemon, and several stars were fired off from her Pokemon. This time, the attack hit home, knocking Poliwag to the ground. "Now follow it up with Quick Attack," Isla said, and Eevee shot forward. The poor water type Pokemon didn't even have a chance to react as Eevee slammed into it once more, knocking out the Pokemon. "Alright, now or never," Isla said, as she threw the empty Pokeball at the downed Poliwag. The Tadpole Pokemon disappeared in a flash of light, and the ball rocked back and forth. Once… Twice…. And finally a third time, and then it stopped. "Yes!" Isla shouted, letting out a sigh of relief and she went over to grab the Pokeball.

"Congratulations!" Jay said, leaping off of Lapras and onto the beach, with Torracat close behind him. "Well, why don't we maybe hit up the Pokemon Center on our way? I get the feeling that your Eevee and Poliwag need it."

"Yeah, fair," Isla admitted, returning her hurt Eevee to her Pokeball so that she could get a good rest until they got there. Jay nodded, gave Lapras one last pat on the head before also returning her to the Pokeball and pocketing it before leading Isla to the Pokemon Center, Torracat and Charmander trailing behind them.

* * *

Ian leaped off the Noivern, and had to stop himself from kissing the ground in joy. Honestly, he was contemplating swimming back to Akala Island rather than getting another ride from Briar and his Noivern. "And just like that, here we are!" Briar announced, getting off his Pokemon and standing next to Ian. They had finally landed somewhere inland on Akala Island, after that rather terrifying ride.

Ian just rolled his eyes and took his glasses back from Mudkip and put them back on. "So, uh, where's this trial?" Ian asked him, holding Mudkip with both arms now.

"Oh just right in there," Briar said, pointing behind them, and Ian saw a natural archway made out of rock and a path leading down into a cove, and Ian was able to see part of an inland lake from where he was standing.

"Are you coming too?" Ian asked him, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Nah, it's part of the rules. Only one person at any one time if you want to actually take the trial. The only exceptions are Kahunas, who sometimes go to watch," Briar explained. "I'll wait here. Good luck kid!"

Ian just nodded before setting down his Mudkip, and the two began to make their way down the path that Briar had pointed them towards. As the two partners made their way down the path, their view of the lake expanded, revealing that it was rather large, and they could see that there was also a think river that connected it to the ocean. On one side of the lake, there was a large rock wall, something of bluff it seemed, and in the middle of the lake was a small island. One look inside the lake made it apparent that it was alive with all kinds of water type Pokemon, both inland water Pokemon and salt water Pokemon that swam in from the ocean. Ian and Mudkip walked down to the shoreline of the lake and looked around. Honestly, it was a beautiful sight, but he was also unclear on what he had to do. Looking around for any kind of sign, he saw an old boat sitting on the shore, unattended. Approaching it, it seemed like it was still seaworthy, and inside sat an old fishing pole and two oars. That said, despite how old it was, Ian could tell it was still in great condition. He took one last look around, and after he saw no other sign, Ian began pushing the boat into the lake, jumping in at the last second.

Mudkip choose to just leap into the water and swim around Ian's boat as he got the oars and rowed out a little ways. He didn't go all the way out to the island, just far enough that Ian could cast the fishing rod, having no other ideas at that time. He didn't have any bait, so he didn't know if this would even work, but didn't hurt to try. Mudkip was enjoying itself, but the wild Pokemon were giving them a wide berth. A moment passed, then another, and another, but nothing bit. Ian was drumming his fingers along the side of the boat while Mudkip continued to splash around in the water. Ian smiled as he looked down at his partner, but that's when he realized something. The wild Pokemon had been giving them some space… they were all gone. He set the pole down and looked over the side of the boat in every direction, but there was nothing to be found.

At least, that's what he thought. That was, until something _big_ passed under the boat. Big as in this thing had to be at least 5 times larger than the small boat Ian was on. The boat rocked back and forth, causing Ian to lose his footing and fall back to his seat and. Ian took a second to readjust his glasses before looking at where the thing was going, only to go pale when he realized that whatever this was, it was heading right for the end of his fishing line. "Well, if any Pokemon here was going to be the Totem Pokemon," Ian muttered to himself, grabbing the fishing rod again and getting ready. When the behemoth reached the end of the pole, everything went still for a moment… And then it suddenly leaped out of the water, at least a dozen feet into the air! Getting a good look at it now, Ian realized that this wasn't just one Pokemon, rather it was dozens, maybe even a hundred water Pokemon, all working together in sync to form one large Pokemon. And it had the end of its fishing rod in their mouth(s). "Oh, this might've been a mistake," Ian said to himself, as the pokemon crashed down into the lake, sending up a rather large wave, and yanking Ian and his small boat towards it, with Mudkip swimming after his partner.

* * *

We cut away one last time to Jay and Isla, who had just exited the Pokemon Center, with Charmander, Eevee, and Torracat all in tow. Poliwag had also gotten healed up, but Isla elected to keep that one in its Pokeball for now. "Alright, we all set?" Jay asked Isla.

"Should be," Isla said, but just as they turned the corner to begin heading for the volcano, Isla ran right into somebody. It was a man who looked to be in his twenties, and definitely a tourist if his clothes were anything to go off of, given how warm they would be in this kind of weather. They were both knocked to the ground, but one of the two others with the man was quick on his feet and managed to at least stop him from hitting the ground hard. Isla wasn't as lucky, or rather Jay wasn't as quick, as she did hit the floor. "Ah, sorry about that," the man apologized.

"Yeah sorry," Isla said, getting up as both her and Jay pushed past them. She didn't mean to be rude, but Isla was getting impatient and wanted to hurry up and get her Z-Crystal.

As the two walked off, the second man helped the first man up and asked him, "Are you alright David?"

David nodded and made sure his hat was still right where it was supposed to be before replying, "Thanks Jeanne."

"Come on, come on! I wanna see Aunt Cynder and Cherry!" the other person, a younger girl, complained.

"Alright Elizabeth, we're going. We got a whole vacation ahead of us, they're not going anywhere," David replied, exasperated. Elizabeth just grinned and ran ahead, and the couple, one amused and the other just shaking his head, followed after her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Kept you waiting, huh?**

**Yeah, sorry, I know it's been quite a while since a chapter has been posted, but now that college is going a lot lighter due to that thing we're not going to talk about, I suddenly have a LOT more free time on my hands. So, time to get back to it!**

* * *

We cut to Ian as he is dragged in his boat by the Totem Pokémon, which was a Wishiwashi that was working with a lot of other Wishiwashi to form one giant Pokémon. Mudkip swam desperately after his trainer, doing his best to even keep pace. "Mudkip! You gotta go under and attack it!" Ian shouted to his partner, and Mudkip dived under the water and tried to speed up to the Totem Pokémon.

It was not easy for the small amphibian Pokémon, but as the large amalgamation of Pokémon turned to the left, it gave Mudkip the chance he needed. He raced forward with all the strength in his body and hit the side of the Totem Pokémon with an underwater Tackle. A few of the Wishiwashi parted from the large group and swam away, the rest of them focused on the smaller Pokémon. Even though Mudkip had been so ready to take on this Totem Pokémon for his trainer, now that the group was staring him down, the Mudkip did the one sane move it could think of: He turned around and swam as fast as he could in the other direction!

As the behemoth began pulling Ian after his beloved partner Pokémon, all he could do was shout, "Alright buddy, gonna be real with you, I don't think this plan is working!"

* * *

Elsewhere, Isla, Eevee, and Charmander stood before a tribal style arch. They had walked up the path Jay had pointed them towards and had promised to wait until they came back to give them a lift back to Melemele Island. Isla grinned as she looked up the mountain, "I can't wait to see the look on Ian's face when I get back with that Z-Crystal." She began to jog up the path, with her Pokémon following close behind.

The first 5 minutes or so went well, they made good progress, and nothing attacked. Everything went downhill after that point. More specifically, when four Salandits leapt out from their hiding spots around the path, surrounding the small group. "Eevee, Quick Attack! Charmander, Scratch!" Isla ordered quickly. Eevee shot towards the two that were behind them as Charmander ran towards the rest that stood further up the path. The two Salandits engaged with Eevee tried counterattack with Poison Gas, but Eevee was simply to fast for them to prepare, as she slammed into one, before immediately dashing around following up with a strike to the other. Charmander, however, was far less lucky. The younger Pokémon ran up to one of the Salandits and managed to hit it with a pretty decent strike, however he didn't have the speed necessary to respond to the other Salandit as it ran up, its fangs dripping with poison, and sank its fangs in Charmander, causing the small fire lizard to cry out.

Isla glanced back, saw that Eevee was holding up pretty well on her own, so she focused on Charmander. As another Salandit reared back to bite Charmander as well, a rock suddenly bonked Salandit in the side of the head, and the small lizard's head whipped around, only to get smacked dead between the eyes with another rock. Isla was tossing another rock in the air, just grinning at the lizard. The Salandit hissed indignantly and ran towards Isla, however, the small Pokémon greatly underestimated Isla.

Most people ran when getting charged by a poison lizard. The issue was that Isla was not most people. Instead, as the Salandit approached, Isla just brought her leg back, and proceeded to punt the small lizard into the distance. "Got some distance on that one!" Isla commented, watching the lizard fly into the distance. She looked back to her Pokémon, Eevee slammed into one, causing it to go tumbling into the other, and they both went down. Meanwhile, Charmander used Scratch one more time on the lone Salandit, and finally managed to come out on top now that he wasn't getting ganged up on.

"Alright, you two ready to get going again?" Isla said, crouching down to the level of her Pokémon as they both ran up to her. When they both gave her a nod, Isla stood back up, but not before grabbing a few more rocks and shoving them in her pocket, as she and her team continued on up the mountain.

* * *

Briar leaned against the arch that Ian had passed through earlier, drumming both of hands against the arch to try and pass the time any quicker. "I'm sure he's almost done. He's probably walking down the path…. Now!" He said, whipping around and looking down the path, hoping to see the redhead, but no dice.

Briar just groaned, as Noivern just shook his head at his behavior. However, the large bat-dragon's ear twitched and it looked to the sky. "Awww, what's wrong buddy? Wanna get back to Duncan? Well, as soon as he's done in there, we'll get you back to your trainer," Briar said, walking over to Noivern and giving him a scratch behind the ear, but was confused when he got no reaction. "What's up, bud? You usually love this," Briar asked.

Noivern began to growl and stepped in front of Briar in a defensive manor. It wasn't until a few moments later that Briar finally began to hear what sounded like something shooting towards them, which seemed to have Noivern on edge, though Briar couldn't figure out what it could be. Though, he didn't have to ponder that for long, as something, appeared above them and began descending. As it got closer, Briar finally recognized it as a Metagross, and realized that someone was riding on top of it.

The Metagross set down on the ground, shaking the ground and almost causing Briar to fall, and the woman rider got off, all the while Noivern growled at them. "Hey, c'mon now Noivern, no need to be so rude. Uh, hey! Can I help you Miss?" Briar called over, trying to hold Noivern back. Truth be told though, he couldn't even budge the large bat-dragon.

"You escorted a young man with red hair here, correct?" the woman asked him in a professional tone, almost evaluating him rather than really looking at him.

"Uh, yeah," Briar said, his grip loosening on Noivern slightly. He was beginning to understand what the Pokémon might be feeling.

"Where is he now?" the woman asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know, scary lady," Briar said, letting go of Noivern, the bat-dragon continuing to stare daggers at the mystery woman and her Metagross.

"Judging by the fact that you're defending that arch, that's probably where I should start looking," she said, stepping forward, but Noivern stepped forward at the same time, causing the woman to pause, though there was not even a trace of fear on her face.

"Sorry, you can't go in while someone's taking a trial. You'll have to wait… Uh, you got a name so I don't keep calling you scary lady?" Briar asked, a little awkwardly.

She just stood there for a moment, before simply saying, "I am Orla Fannon, an admin from the Aether Foundation. And unfortunately, I cannot afford to wait any longer. Metagross, Psychic." As soon as the command was issued, Metagross' eyes glowed blue, and Noivern was surrounded with a blue aura and was flung through a nearby tree as Briar began to back away as Orla and Metagross began to approach.

However, they were halted once more as they were bombarded by Noivern's Screech, as the large bat Pokémon recovered almost instantly from being thrown through a tree. Truth be told, Noivern had taken far worse before. He leapt back to Briar's defense, and as Metagross finally managed to shake off the Screech, Orla commanded, "Meteor Mash. Now." Metagross floated a few feet into the air, held its two front arms out, and fired like a rocket towards Noivern. Said Pokémon tried to counter by firing a Dragon Pulse at the oncoming attack, however, Metagross just pushed right through it. The steel Pokémon slammed into Noivern, though thankfully it had been slowed down somewhat due to the force of Dragon Pulse, but it still caused Noivern to go sprawling backwards, though he managed to regain his footing before slamming into anything else.

However, Briar could tell that Noivern was really feeling those hits, which meant that Orla's Metagross was quite powerful, since Noivern was one of Duncan's best. But all they really had to do was buy time until Ian finished up his trial, which he could only hope was soon as Briar began searching his bag for something to give Noivern a boost.

* * *

Over at the lake, Ian is sent sprawling onto the small island in the middle of the lake as the Wishiwashi swarm made a sharp turn and used his poor, small boat as a wrecking ball. As Ian came to a stop, he realized that the fishing rod had fallen out of his grip. Looking around frantically, he spotted it a few feet away, but slowly getting dragged towards the water by Wishiwashi. Ian scrambled to his feet and ran after the rod, but it didn't look like he was going to be able to reach it in time.

However, just before the fishing rod was lost to the surf forever, Mudkip leapt up from the water and grabbed in his mouth and struggled against the swarm's strength. The crowd of Pokémon was clearly overpowering poor Mudkip, but it managed to give Ian enough time to grab it too. Together, trainer and Pokémon put everything they had to try and fight against the swarm's strength. However, no matter how little progress they made, the large conglomerate of Wishiwashi seem to have a burst of strength and they would lose any ground they had made.

Ian thought desperately, trying to figure out if there was some kind of trick to the trial. Mudkip had attacked it in the side earlier, and while a few split off from the group, it hadn't done much else. Was that all there was to it? Attack until they all left? Frankly, Ian wanted to believe that a trial like this wouldn't have such an… Isla-like solution.

However, an idea sprung into Ian's mind. He had been provided a fishing rod for this trial. Earlier, he believed he just had to keep the Wishiwashi on the line while battling them, and if he let go, he'd fail. But what if there was more to that. What if he had to actually catch one and reel it in? And even though they had all swarmed together to form this large looking Water Pokémon, there had to be one Wishiwashi that was actually gripping the line. And if attacking them caused them to split off from the group…

"Mudkip! Find the Wishiwashi that's holding the line and attack it! I'll hold it as long as I can!" Ian told him partner, and while the small amphibian looked concerned about leaving his trainer to fight against the combined strength of the swarm of Wishiwashi, but ultimately gave in and followed his orders. Mudkip let go of the fighting rod and jumped into the water once more. As soon as Mudkip was gone, Ian could feel himself being dragged across the gravel and closer to the water. He fought as hard as he could, summoning all of his strength, but he barely slowed their progress. He could only hope that his partner was fast enough.

Meanwhile, Mudkip bolted through the was at top speed, swimming around the group of water Pokémon, following the line through the water to the front of the conglomerate. As the young Mudkip faced the large mass of Pokémon from the very front, he saw that the Wishiwashi in the very center and back of the mouth was the one holding the line. However, the large group of Pokémon seemed to catch on to their plan, as the Pokémon in the swarm moved as if to close the large creature's mouth. Desperately, Mudkip began to slam its body against the jaws of the creature, repeatedly using Tackle again and again, trying to reach the Wishiwashi holding the line.

However, even as Mudkip was making progress, Ian was continuing to lose ground. One of his feet was already in the water, and both would be submerged soon. His right hand was gripped so hard on the fishing rod that it was completely white knuckled, as he desperately grasped at the ground, trying to grip onto anything to give him an edge, but to no avail. He grit his teeth and just murmured, "C'mon Mudkip, hurry..."

Mudkip, spotting his trainer was getting closer and closer to the water, swam back from the front of the group of Wishiwashi and further into the lake, before turning and, with all the strength he could gather in his little body, slammed into the Pokémon that made up the jaws of this large conglomerate and finally managed to break through into the mouth, but the small Pokémon overestimated how much force he needed, and he went spinning towards the back of the mouth, before bumping right into the Wishiwashi holding the line.

As Ian continued to struggle against the line and do all he could to pull back, he suddenly realized that he wasn't being dragged in any longer. In fact, as he looked into the water, he saw that the whole swarm of them had come to a complete halt. He adjusted his glasses and gave an experimental tug on the line. As soon as he did that, they all suddenly dispersed, fleeing into all different directions, until Ian could only see one left next to his Mudkip, and the last one still had its line in its mouth. Slowly, Ian began reeling it in, and felt no resistance as he did. In fact, it was more like the Wishiwashi was swimming towards him as he reeled in. Mudkip followed along, beating Wishiwashi to the shore and happily waddling to his trainer's side. As Wishiwashi finally surfaced, Ian stopped reeling in. "Wishi!" the small fish Pokémon cried, and while Ian couldn't confirm, it almost sounded like it was congratulating him. However, Wishiwashi also began to tug on the line, looking at him pleadingly. "Oh, right! Let's get that off," Ian said, kneeling down and unhooking the small Pokémon. As soon as he did, it ducked under the water once more, but before Ian could ask Mudkip to go after it, it reemerged, but this time clutching a small aqua-blue crystal in its mouth and holding it up to Ian, as if offering it. Ian's eyes widened as he recognized it as a Z-Crystal, and given the color, obviously it was the Water Z-Crystal.

He held out his hand and the small fish Pokémon placed it there, before crying out, "Wishi!" once more and diving under the water, disappearing farther into the lake. Ian grinned at the small crystal and his hand and then at his partner. "We did it buddy!" Mudkip began leaping up and down in joy, celebrating. Pocketing the crystal, Ian said, "Alright, now let's get back to Briar…." He suddenly trailed off, his eyes widening as he realized he was still on the island in the middle of the lake, without a boat, or any way that matter to get back to shore. "Awwwwww, c'mon!" Ian shouted.

* * *

Noivern fired another Dragon Pulse, after having recovered as well as getting a boost from Briar's homemade potion, while Orla had her Metagross fire off a Hyper Beam. The two beams slammed into one another, and while there was a very brief struggle, Metagross slowly began to win out. Briar's eyes widened at this, trying to figure out how this woman's Pokémon could be this ridiculously strong. Thankfully, the point of the clash erupted in an explosion before it could be pushed back to either side.

However, their saving grace came in the form that after Metagross fired off its attack, it needed to rest from using such a powerful attack. Noivern took this chance to shoot forward, its fangs beginning to glow as it flew up to Metagross and used Bite, which actually managed to sink in a little thanks to the boost that Briar gave it. Metagross cried out in pain and began to shake, trying to get the bat-dragon off it. As Noivern continued biting into the steel Pokémon, Metagross eventually recovered enough to use another attack, as Orla simply commanded, "Psychic, now." Metagross' eyes began to glow once more, forcing Noivern's jaws open and flinging Noivern away once more. There was a tense moment where both Pokemon watched each other, waiting for the other to make a move. However, it was suddenly interrupted as a soaking wet Ian walked up the path with Mudkip at his side, saying, "Alright, Briar, can we get back now? I got the crystal, but they left me on the stupid island! So-" he suddenly stopped as he realized he was interrupting a battle. He awkwardly shuffled in place as all eyes turned to him, as Briar just sighed in relief.

"See, that wasn't so bad! All ya had to do was wait," Briar told Orla, and just received a glare from her Metagross, but Orla's attention was suddenly elsewhere. Said woman walked up to the soaking wet 17-year-old, almost examining him like a specimen rather than as a person, which caused Ian to instinctually take a step back.

"Ian McCraken correct?" she asked him, and all he did was nod in response. "I have it under good authority that you were with Gladion today, is that also correct?" Another nod from Ian. "I don't know what he might have told you, but if you have any information on his whereabouts, I need to know. He's running around spouting on about things he really doesn't understand. And we can't have him ruining the image of the Aether Foundation with these lies," she told him. However intimidated Ian was by this woman, he tried to figure out how much of this she really believed. After all, even though Gladion had spun him a whole tale about a trapped and tortured Pokémon, he truthfully didn't know the guy too well, so believing him was… pretty much a leap of faith. And while he'd come this far, he still wasn't sure he trusted Glaidon.

But as he searched her face and her words, Ian could only come to the conclusion that this woman truly believed everything that she was saying, which caused some turmoil in Ian's mind. For now, he decided he'd play it safe, and technically he wouldn't even be lying. "I met him earlier, but I don't know where he is now," Ian told her.

Orla seem to take a moment herself, before pulling something out of her pocket and offering it to Ian, "Well, if he ever approaches you again for any purpose, please let me know. You can reach me at this number. Your cooperation is appreciated." Ian took the card, which seemed to be a business card of sorts, and it had a phone number under a name that he could only assumed was her's.

"Orla Fannon?" he asked her, to which he got a nod in return as she began returning to her Metagross, though Briar didn't seem amused as he shouted, "That's all you wanted to say?! You couldn't have waited for that?!"

However, Orla didn't seem to acknowledge Briar as she simply replied to Ian, "Have a good day, Mr. McCraken. I hope you can assist me in the future." Metagross used Psychic to reattach its riding mechanism so that Orla could mount it once more. Metagross raised into the air with its Psychic and flew off, all the while Briar continued shouting at her as Ian just watched her go.

* * *

**Whelp, that's Chapter 5 FINALLY DONE. College is a bitch on the schedule, let no one tell you different. Next chapter will be Isla's trial, since I didn't want to drag out the trial stuff too much in this and Carrie lost Rock-Paper-Scissors to Izzy, AND YES CARRIE, TWO-OUT-OF-THREE WAS HOW I WANTED IT TO HAPPEN! I DON'T CARE IF YOU WON THE FIRST ONE, ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS WIN ONE MORE! IT'S YOUR OWN FAULT!**

**But anyways, hope y'all have a good day and that this chapter could bring up your spirits during these rough times. See ya!**


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